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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Drifting isn't a real sport.

So sayeth the peanut gallery that thinks drifting is just a bunch of
wheel-spinning youngsters who've watched way too many selections from
the Fast and Furious library. I'm here to tell you that it's
very much a sport, and the men and women behind the wheels of their
sideways machines dance the thin line between aggressive fury and
smoke-filled poetry.

I'm sweating my ass off in the middle of the Mojave Desert for my first
lesson on drifting, and my teacher for the day is none other than Mr. Michael Essa.
He's late, it's hot and I'm surrounded by a pit road filled with random
examples of rear-wheel-drive Japanese machinery in all the colors of
the rainbow. Plus three more hues that I've never seen before.

Who exactly is this guy I'm waiting for? If you're already a fan of
drifting, than you know that Professor Essa is the bespectacled pilot of
the GSR Autosport BMW Z4. Essa is a professional drifter who competes in the Formula Drift series alongside the likes of Vaughn Gittin Jr., Rhys Millen and Samuel Hubinette,
amongst others. Mike is passionate about his sport, skilled behind the
wheel and also capable of ducking under the hood and turning some
wrenches. At the moment, however, I don't know any of this... because
I'm melting into the asphalt of the Streets of Willow, and Essa is still
late.

A truck pulls into view and it's hauling a trailer packed with a drift
car that's traveled all around the world. The man normally piloting said
drift machine is now helming the full-size hauler and his multinational
cargo. He may be fast on the track, but his trip to the desert drift
destination was slow. Regardless, all is forgiven when he hands me a
bottle of water. All is forgotten when he fires up the BMW Z4 for the first time.

I called it a multinational machine, and I meant it. The car is mostly
of Germanic origin, but it also features a healthy dose of American DNA
and competes in a sport that originated in Japan. The exterior sheet
metal is all Z4, with the exception of the folding hardtop that was
ditched to save weight. Under the hood sits the S54 inline six-cylinder
engine, which has been worked over by Essa's GSR Autosport garage, and
now features induced excitement courtesy of a Garrett turbo. The mighty
mill produces 600 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque, which is just
what you need when your goal is a life spent sideways. Those figures,
by the way, are measured at the wheels.

Essa wasn't content to route all that energy into a standard Z4
transmission and rear end. Instead, he machined his own bell housing so
he could bolt in a NASCAR-style Tex Racing four-speed manual gearbox,
and then pair that with a Speedway Engineering quick change independent
rear suspension. See, told you that there car had a bit 'o 'Murica
buried within.

The combination of the BMW engine with the NASCAR gearbox and rear end
means that Essa's drift machine is actually a drift monster. Forward is
obviously no problem, but sideways is a direction that Mike has dialed
in more efficiently than I do any number stored on my smartphone. If he
wants the world to slide by from his favorite perspective, all he has to
do is think it... and he's going to prove it to me.

The GSR Autosport BMW Z4 has arrived here at the Streets of Willow to
attend an event called the All-Star Drift Bash. Fans of the sport are
spending their weekend sweating, wrenching and, most of all, sharing
their love for their favorite form of motorsports. While waiting for
Essa to arrive, I had wandered the paddock and spied all sorts of drift
cars in various states of repair. Some rookies are running sans bumper
or fender, not because it's the style, but because that part of their
car is now lying on the track. Meanwhile, other amateurs who've spent
more time on the track are beginning to link their turns together, and
picking up speed. Despite the aggression on display, the paddock remains
jovial, and people spend time chatting, sharing food they just
barbecued or offering tips on car setups and driving lines.

It's a great side of the lower tier of the sport that I appreciated
getting the time to take in. Still, it's not why I drove away from the
beach this morning, and into temperatures topping 110 degrees. Mike Essa
just returned from a shakedown run, and he's holding an extra helmet in
his hand. It fits my head, the Recaro seats appear to be a perfect
match for both the Z4 and my backside, and the racing harness is secure
around my trunk. I'm locked into the shotgun seat of Essa's German
sports car, and with a push of a button the Garret-turbo-fed ex-E46-M3
motor barks to life with orders that would've made Manfred von
Richthofen snap to attention. Mike looks over and gives me the universal
you-ready-to-go-? thumbs up, and I reply with a calm, collected
of-course-I-am thumb of my own.

We rumble through the paddock towards the track where my outlook on motorsports will change.

The first thing you notice about the GSR Autosport Z4 is, of course, the
rapacious exhaust note that takes the place of all other sounds
currently occupying your ear canal. Second, however, is the how
mechanically wonderfully the transmission and rear end sort out the
power sent from the engine. Each shift hammers home with a noise that
makes you think it's killing itself, so that Mike can live. It's heavy
metal in mechanical form. As the transmission locks into place, it then
becomes the rear end's turn to sort out the next phase of our
rubber-devouring adventure. The entire powertrain is ready to work
together in a hard rock symphony, and conductor Essa has taken his place
at the podium.

We enter the track.

The sweltering landscape rockets past, and my calm, collected demeanor
has been left to rot in the sweltering heat. I'm crying, laughing,
smiling and generally doing all the things that I told myself I
wouldn't. Our rate of acceleration is incredible, but the forward
momentum is a mere sideshow act to the big event that waits before every
turn. Essa drops a gear, tugs on the super-sized handbrake lever and
pitches the car sideways. Not a little bit sideways either, mind you.
Our angle of entry on every turn has me craning my neck to stay focused
on the track ahead. On some turns, it feels like we're entering the
corner trunk first, yet Essa is able to control application of the
throttle, steering, handbrake and foot brake in instantly measured
amounts to make sure our ultimate direction is what the track designer
intended. You can see for yourself in the video.

This is pure automotive ballet, assuming the star of the show is all black swan, all the time.

My experience on the track with Mr. Essa was over as quickly as it
started. It was loud, smoke-filled and tattooed a why-so-serious smile
across my face. I came into the day thinking drifting was an exhibition
of driving skills designed to convince enthusiasts to buy certain brands
of tires. I had a similar attitude as the aforementioned peanut
gallery, but that outlook is gone forever thanks to 600 horsepower and a
day spent chatting with Michael Essa.

This is a very real form of motorsports that takes careful planning with
regards to driving lines and car setup, not to mention tremendous
amounts of talent sitting behind the steering wheel. Essa's passion for
the sport is mirrored on the faces and cars of the amateur drifters who
show up at events like the All-Star Bash, and who arrive in droves to
cheer on their favorite racers at Formula Drift events hosted around the
country.

These fans are out wrenching on their beloved machines in triple-digit
heat just so they can spend a few days on the track trying to get better
at a sport they love. Like SCCA, NASA and other racing organizations
that see members dedicating time and money to motorsports, these
drifting enthusiasts deserve equal status in the motorsports community.
Not only is drifting downright inspiring, it is damn right entertaining.